Comic talent Stephen gets in a pickle on a punting trip

Cambridge graduate Stephen Fry hardly had what you would call an expert touch as he tackled punting, one of the university town's favourite pastimes. Onlookers watched in surprise as the actor rather unsteadily took an elegant lady friend out for a date on the river and almost ended up causing a collision with other waterborne traffic.

The comedy actor's bumbling act was almost certainly part of his role as a country solicitor in hit ITV drama Kingdom. Stephen was back in his alma mater filming scenes with actress Phyllida Law near St Johns College.

He famously started his acting career as a member of the university's drama group Footlights. Fellow members were Hugh Laurie, now a household name in the US through his role as a maverick medic in House, and Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, who is Phyllida's daughter.